Calvin Woodward and Hope Yen, Associated Press Updated 12:11 am, Monday, April 23, 2018 Now Playing: The AP has examined 15 pages of fired FBI Director James Comey's declassified memos documenting conversations and interactions with President Trump. Eric Tucker breaks them down and explains why they're central to the obstruction investigation. (April 20) Media: Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his aides are leaving a false impression about the extent of North Korea's plans to give up its nuclear weapons. They say North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has basically agreed to "denuclearization." In fact, Kim's announcement Friday before summits with the U.S. and South Korea is more limited, agreeing to freeze missile and nuclear weapons tests and close one nuclear facility already believed to have been rendered unusable. There is no mention by North Korea of full nuclear disarmament. Meanwhile, Trump offered a shifting rationale in … [Read more...] about AP FACT CHECK: Trump distorts NKorea aim to ‘denuclearize’

0 View Comments WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump offered a shifting rationale this past week for his firing of FBI Director James Comey and joined other Republicans in exaggerating how much simpler it will become for Americans to file their taxes next time. He also erred, though by just a hair, in claiming a historic achievement in black and Hispanic joblessness. A look behind recent statements on these matters and more: TRUMP: "Slippery James Comey, the worst FBI Director in history, was not fired because of the phony Russia investigation where, by the way, there was NO COLLUSION (except by the Dems)!" — tweet Wednesday. THE FACTS: Only Trump knows why he decided to fire Comey. But Trump has changed his story. In May 2017, two days after ousting Comey, Trump told NBC: "In fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, 'You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story.'" Comey's firing, and Trump's subsequent suggestion that … [Read more...] about AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s shifting rationale for firing Comey

As Americans rushed to file their taxes, the Democrats in the U.S. Senate produced a news release on April 16 that criticized the Republican-backed tax bill that President Donald Trump signed into law late last year.The document began, “As millions of Americans finish preparing their taxes, corporate executives are laughing all the way to the bank thanks to the Republican tax bill,” the document said.Executives, the release continued, are “laying off American workers — in fact, more than 100,000 American workers have already been laid off in 2018.”This statistic is wrong in two ways.The office of Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told us the 100,000-person count was based on public reporting of layoffs and was not intended to be comprehensive.However, there is a comprehensive number published every month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In January 2018, there were 1,784,000 layoffs, and in February, there were 1,647,000. That’s more … [Read more...] about PolitiFact fact-check: Chuck Schumer, Senate Democrats flub statistic on layoffs in 2018

By HOPE YEN and CALVIN WOODWARD AP, 3:12 PM WASHINGTON (AP) — On Tax Day, President Donald Trump and a chorus of Republicans announced that Tuesday’s filing deadline marked the last time that figuring out taxes will drive Americans crazy. Not so. Vice President Mike Pence hailed a new era of simplicity for tax filers starting next year in a tweet that also repeated the myth that the tax cuts are the largest ever. Trump himself, in USA Today, declared: “This is the last year Americans will fill out outdated, complicated tax forms.” The talking point spread like wildfire. “It’s out with the old and in with the new,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah was more seasonal about it: “I still think of spring as the perfect time to say, ‘Out with the old, in with the new.'” But everything old is new again, or will be, for many people when they sit down to do their taxes next year. A look at some … [Read more...] about AP FACT CHECK: No, tax-filing migraines are not going away